The field of this invention relates to orthodontic headgear and more particularly to a safety-release, tension applying mechanism for use about the head of an individual for applying force to the teeth of the individual through teeth mounted braces for the purpose of achieving proper occlusion.
Within orthodontics it is common to use extraoral (outside of the mouth) devices to apply a steady continuous force to intraoral (inside of the mouth) devices for the purpose of assisting in obtaining or maintaining of proper occlusion. Orthodontics is most commonly utilized in conjunction with children. In conjunction with an extraoral orthodontic appliance, in the past it has been a frequent occurrence for one child to grab onto such an appliance of another child during play or other social activity.
Such extraoral orthodontic equipment inherently must incorporate some means to connect to the intraoral orthodontic equipment. The means of connection usually involves sharp pointed objects to minimize the size of the structure which enters the mouth of the wearer. The smaller the object entering the mouth, the less interfering the object is to normal activity of the mouth. However, upon the child grabbing and pulling on another child's extraoral orthodontic equipment causing disengagement with the intraoral orthodontic equipment, if that extraoral equipment remains intact and the child then releases such, a snapback occurs which can cause the sharp pointed portions of the extraoral orthodontic equipment to injure the wearer in the area of the face. In the past, multitudes of serious injury have occurred.
The reason for the snapback is that, inherently with such orthodontic equipment, there is incorporated a spring assembly. The function of the spring assembly is to apply a spring force through the extraoral orthodontic equipment to the intraoral orthodontic equipment. When the extraoral orthodontic equipment is disengaged from the intraoral orthodontic equipment, this spring force is capable of forcibly moving the sharp pointed sections of the extraoral orthodontic equipment into contact with the wearer's face to cause the injury.
In the past, it has been common to design a release mechanism in conjunction with extraoral orthodontic equipment. The function for the release mechanism is that, if the extraoral orthodontic equipment is disengaged from the intraoral orthodontic equipment, the extraoral orthodontic equipment will physically break apart thereby preventing snapback and injury to the wearer. Previously, common forms of such releasable extraoral orthodontic equipment have been defined within U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,115,921; 4,155,161; 4,215,983; 4,226,589; 4,238,188; 4,368,039; 4,402,669; and 4,416,625. These previous release mechanisms, in most instances, satisfactorily satisfy the requirement to effect breaking apart or in some manner negating the tension producing force included within the orthodontic headgear when such headgear encounters an unusual pulling force of a sufficient predetermined amount. However, these mechanisms in the past have proved to be complex in construction since such are composed of many parts and inherently are expensive to manufacture.
Additionally, extraoral orthodontic equipment is not worn by the wearer at all times. Usually, several times during any given day, the wearer will remove the appliance and locate such in a pocket or purse for a period of time before it is reinstalled in position. In the past, the extraoral orthodontic appliances have not been designed to facilitate ease of removal and reinstallation. Additionally, such extraoral orthodontic appliances have not been designed to be collapsible so as to occupy a small space to facilitate location within one's pocket or purse.